Chapter 285: A Little Girl's Big Dream
Kouya only needed to point out a few mistakes in Miko's training method, but even those few words made her suddenly realize everything she'd been missing. The flow of her energy became clearer, the pieces clicked together, and all the barriers that had been frustrating her for weeks seemed to dissolve in an instant.
She stood up slowly, eyes shining with newfound clarity and emotion. The light through the paper screens shimmered against her hair as she bowed deeply. "Thank you, Kou-kun."
Kouya waved dismissively, his tone casual. "Let's start."
"Mm." Miko's expression sharpened; her playful gentleness vanished, replaced by determination. "I won't hold back."
"That's exactly what I want."
Their gazes locked, the faintest spark flashing between them. The air felt charged, as if even a game between them carried a sense of battle. No holding back, no mercy—competition was serious business.
After several tense and fast-paced rounds of Street Fighter, with controllers clacking and lighthearted trash talk filling the room, Miko sighed in defeat. The corners of her lips curved upward even in loss—her spirit for games, at least, was intact. Afterward, she took the twin maids by the hand and headed toward the kitchen to make lunch, humming softly under her breath.
Left alone in the living room, Kouya leaned back, stretching, idly picking up his phone. Just as he was about to start a game, a small shadow darted near the doorway.
"oni-chan, come with me!"
He turned to see the dirty loli peeking out from behind the wall, whispering as if plotting something dangerous.
"What for?" Kouya raised an eyebrow, suspicious.
"Just come on" she said, tugging his sleeve, her expression far too mischievous for comfort.
He sighed, resigned, and followed her.
She led him down the hallway to a room that looked straight out of a toy commercial. Pink curtains framed the windows, a plush carpet covered the floor, and a large, soft princess bed dominated the space. Heart-shaped cushions were piled high, and stuffed animals filled every corner—cats, bears, even a plush dragon. The air smelled faintly of strawberries.
"oni-chan, this is my room! I decorated it myself!" she said proudly, placing her hands on her hips.
'Yeah, that's obvious,' Kouya thought dryly. 'Nobody else would pick this explosion of pink.'
His gaze drifted around the room, landing on various posters and items. 'A Meruru magical girl poster… fine. an Artoria pillow—normal enough for a fan. But that huge poster of a sweating muscle man flexing on the wall? What the hell?! That breaks the entire theme!'
"oni-chan, over here," she called, kneeling down beside her desk.
She reached under it, fumbling around for a moment, then pulled out a bundle of papers, handling them with exaggerated secrecy.
Kouya tilted his head. "What's all this? A pile of love letters from your secret admirers?"
"They're not love letters!" she huffed, cheeks puffed. "The boys in my class are way too immature. They keep giving me letters, but I don't accept any of them."
'Right, because you're such a picture of maturity yourself,' Kouya thought, glancing again at the mountain of plush toys. 'Maybe fix this room before calling anyone else childish.'
Holding the papers close to her chest, she said dreamily, "Last weekend, I went to play with my deskmate, and her older sister, Megumi-senpai, is a class rep in her first year of middle school. She's classmates with Eromanga-sensei, so she took me to meet her. And that's how I met the famous Eromanga-sensei!"
Her eyes sparkled as she said it, her voice almost reverent.
Then her expression turned sheepish. "But, um, Eromanga-sensei can be a little weird sometimes…"
Kouya blinked. "Weird?"
The girl fidgeted. "Yeah. She kept asking us to pose for her art practice. Some of the poses were really strange… but everyone else was fine with it, so I did it too."
Kouya rubbed his temples. 'That's not weird—that's a walking red flag. What kind of art lesson is that?!'
The girl quickly changed the topic, grinning as she handed him the stack of pages. "Anyway! Look, these are my drawings!"
Kouya glanced down. Dozens of pages were filled with pencil sketches—some rough, some more detailed. There were cute characters with large expressive eyes, fantastical costumes, and dramatic speech bubbles. Despite the uneven art, her effort was clear.
"Onee-chan wants me to focus on kendo and piano," she said, her voice lowering, "but I don't like those. They're boring."
"So?" Kouya asked.
"So…" Her tiny hands clenched into fists. "I'm going to become a mangaka like Eromanga-sensei! I want to draw amazing stories that make people feel things!"
Her eyes gleamed, filled with innocent determination. She was practically glowing with the energy of a dreamer.
Kouya sighed quietly. 'A mangaka, huh? You really think those weird, racy comics are 'amazing stories'? You've got a lot to learn, kid.'
"…I've been secretly drawing for a while now," she admitted. "But Onee-chan found out. She got mad and told me to stop."
Kouya frowned slightly. "She's not unreasonable. What exactly did you draw?"
The little girl hesitated, her face going red. "Well… it was kind of… um, inspired by Eromanga-sensei's style. There were a lot of cute girls and… some poses that were… not normal."
Kouya sighed again. "So your sister found out you were drawing risqué stuff and grounded you."
She nodded quickly, biting her lip. "But I didn't mean anything bad! I just wanted to make something beautiful and dramatic!"
Her passion was obvious—even if her idea of "beautiful" was dangerously misguided.
"Anyway," she continued, "these are the pages I've finished. I wanted to show them to Eromanga-sensei and ask for advice. Can you please help me take them there? Please?"
Kouya shook his head. "No."
She froze. "Wh-what? Why not?!"
"Because it's your dream," he said flatly. "If you can't handle the steps yourself, then maybe it's not worth chasing yet."
Her expression crumbled. "But this is my first dream…!" she whispered, looking down. "Doesn't oni-chan have one too?"
Kouya fell silent for a moment.
'Dreams, huh?'
'Coming to this world wasn't something I planned.'
'Ruling it? No interest.'
'Even dragons like Tohru don't bother trying to dominate humanity.'
'Humans are just ants in the grand scheme of things.'
'Building businesses, writing stories, starting companies, marrying into wealth—all that "winning at life" nonsense… pointless.'
He exhaled slowly, his gaze distant. 'I've already walked beneath the stars, seen worlds beyond imagining. What else is there to chase?'
'Maybe… just the feeling of being alive again. That heartbeat of excitement.'
And for a brief moment, a memory flickered in his mind—Gabriel's face, her lips, the light warmth of that impulsive kiss.
'Yeah. That feeling.'
He smiled faintly.
'Still… why do I keep wanting to feel it again—with others too?'
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